1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to effect device systems and methods for applying an effect to a musical tone and, in specific embodiments, to effect device systems and methods for applying enhanced effects to a musical tone.
2. Related Art
Effect devices for applying an effect to an inputted musical tone have been widely used. For example, guitar effect devices for applying effects, such as a distortion, or the like, to an output of an electric guitar have been popular among musical instrument players.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Kokai) Publication Number 2003-208173 discloses a device for altering a first musical tone with a second musical tone one octave lower than the first musical tone. The input signal (i.e., the first musical tone) is divided into a plurality of band components by use of a plurality of bandpass filters having frequency bands that are different from one another. Then an output of each bandpass filter is further divided in frequency. As a result, a musical tone signal waveform that is one octave lower is produced. As such, even if the first musical tone is a chord (i.e., a musical tone generated with multiple notes of the chord voicing), it is possible to obtain an individual musical tone signal that is one octave below each of the constituent notes of the chord.
An effect device, known as a slicer, may turn on and off a musical tone in a rhythm pattern. Thus in a case where a sound from a guitar is produced continuously, an output of the sound is interrupted in accordance with the rhythm pattern. The rhythm pattern is a pattern that has, for example, a length of one or two bars, and is repeatedly performed. Moreover, the output is turned on and off for each beat at the down beat or at the divided timing of the beat. Accordingly, the pattern is repeated based on the tempo set.
However, such effect devices are monotonous and can easily bore a user. For example, with the effect device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (Kokai) Publication Number 2003-208173, the second musical tone being one octave lower than the first musical tone (i.e., the inputted musical tone) is produced based on the pitch detected from the fundamental tone (the first harmonic) of the musical tone extracted by each bandpass filter. However, the components of the second harmonic and the third harmonic, which characterize the good timbre (realistic character of the sound or high-fidelity sound) of the first musical tone, are not included. Therefore, it is difficult to produce a high-fidelity sound being one octave lower and having the characteristics of the timbre of the first musical tone signal. As a result, there is a tendency for the timbre to resemble a tone color of a sine wave, which does not reflect the timbre of the first musical tone.
With respect to the slicer, the output is turned on and off according to the stored rhythm pattern. However, even if the inputted musical tone is generated with a chord, the on and off pattern is always applied to the musical tone that comes with integrated chord voicing. As a result, it is not possible to apply enhanced, rich effects, for example, to carry out an arpeggio performance of the chord voicing in which each on and off for each of the constituent notes of the chord occurs respectively at different timings.